The euro extended its gains in Asia on Friday after the head of the European Central Bank said policymakers would begin re-evaluating its stimulus in the autumn, fuelling talk that the age of cheap money was coming to an end.

The International Monetary Fund late Thursday approved a one-year, $1.8 billion loan program for Greece but will not release any funds until the eurozone agrees on a debt relief plan, in a highly unusual compromise step.

The approval in principle means the loan "will become effective only after the Fund receives specific and credible assurances from Greece's European partners to ensure debt sustainability, and provided that Greece's economic program remains on track," the IMF said in a statement

German business groups warned Thursday that economic ties with Turkey would go from bad to worse as a sharply escalating diplomatic row heightens uncertainty.

The United States on Thursday hit oil giant ExxonMobil with a $2 million fine for violating Ukraine-related sanctions at a time when Secretary of State Rex Tillerson was still in charge of the company.

Surging global demand for Asian exports and low oil prices will help China and the region's  developing economies grow faster than expected this year and next, the Asian Development Bank said Thursday.

Asian and European markets extended their latest rally on Thursday following across-the-board records on Wall Street where traders were buoyed by another day of strong earnings.

Better-than-forecast results from New York titans IBM and American Express helped to fuel a buying spree and allowed investors to look past the crises engulfing Donald Trump and his stalled legislative agenda.

While Uber has changed ground transport in many cities, Sao Paulo's infernal traffic jams have sparked a new app that opens the sky to commuters: Voom, a helicopter taxi service that charges according to distance and the passenger's weight.

It's a godsend for those in a rush -- but only if the weather permits.

The British government on Wednesday said it would ban companies from charging consumers for paying by debit and credit cards, as the country struggles to bring down its debt.

The dollar's travails extended into Wednesday as Donald Trump faces a battle to push through his much-vaunted economic agenda, but equity traders took the news in their stride. 

The U.S. launched its first round of trade talks with China since Donald Trump took office in an unusually blunt manner Wednesday, demanding more "fair, equitable and reciprocal" relationship, with more access to American made goods and services.

Noting the more than 200 percent surge in Chinese exports to the United States in the last 15 years, creating a trade deficit of $309 billion last year, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross insisted change was necessary.